Would you be comfortable discussing periods with your daughter?

Dads and daughters often have a special relationship – but would you feel comfortable discussing periods with your daughter (or when the time comes)? Even those dads who have a really close bond with their daughters often balk at discussing periods, preferring to make a hasty exit and opting to leave ‘all that girl stuff’ to the female relatives. But it could be a missed opportunity.

Teenage girls may quite understandably want to be private about menstruation but there is a risk that privacy merges with embarrassment and awkwardness which can then lead to feelings of shame. This can be heightened if the men in their lives immediately put fingers in their ears and run a mile the second the words tampon, pad, or periods are mentioned. Periods are one of the last taboos in our society, even though it is a natural healthy process. Men, and dads in particular, have an important role in helping girls and women feel relaxed about the subject.

If a young girl knows she can talk about her period with her dad, then it can remove a lot of the mystery and shame. Dads can help daughters feel positive about their changing bodies, rather than shrinking away in horror. In the process Dad can become knowledgeable about a subject which they are surrounded by for their whole lives….makes sense right?

If your daughter seems horrified when you raise the subject, you don’t need to invade her privacy but at least she knows the topic is not a no-go zone. We’ve heard of girls with divorced parents who absolutely dread staying at their dad’s house at that time of the month, due to it being a taboo embarrassing subject and the fact that from a practical view the Dad in their ignorance often does not even have a bin the bathroom forcing his daughter to either risk flushing the pads or tampons, or do the ‘Loo Roll Wrap’ and bring every used sanitary product home with them tied up in a carrier bag…. Crazeeee but true!!

So Dads, you need to make sure that you know one end of a tampon from the other. Know that they are NOT meant to be flushed, provide bins, know your daughters’ preferred brands so you can do the emergency shop without batting an eyelid. And very importantly, make sure that your bathroom is geared up for easy stress-free disposal, with a bin and some confident enhancing disposal bags like FabLittleBag.

And if you’re the father of boys, you’re not off the hook either. By talking to your sons about periods, they’ll be more sophisticated and more understanding, all of which will make them dream boyfriend material in years to come! They may squirm now but will thank you later.

But what if you’re clueless about what goes on once a month? Well you’d better do some reading up on it, or ‘Call Martha’, after all, your daughter needs you!

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